Feb. 08, 2022
To Whom it May Concern: I believe it is in the best interest of the public to convert Grayscale Bitcoin Trust to a bitcoin ETF. Increasingly, the public needs free and open access to this asset class as part of a balanced portfolio that may include equities, debt instruments, real estate, and precious metals. As with bitcoin, these asset classes are deemed property by the IRS. The rise of bitcoin from pennies to $69,000 is a direct reflection of the public’s loss of purchasing power in the US dollar beginning in 1971 upon going off of the gold standard. Prior to March 2020, the purchasing power of the US dollar had declined 86%. Since the pandemic this decline is accelerating. One unique property of bitcoin is easy access for even the unbanked in America and even more so globally. While ownership of equities, debt, real estate, and precious metals has always out of reach for most Americans, Bitcoin with is nearly infinite divisibility provides access to anyone with a smart phone. As the world’s first secure digital store of value, Bitcoin can be the Great Equalizer in an environment of record breaking wealth gaps. Security, accessibility, divisibility, transportability, and a finite supply can become the cornerstone of wealth for Americans as equities became in the late 19th to early 20th century and beyond. Public benefit + public access = a bitcoin ETF as a store of wealth. Thank you, Les DeFelice Les DeFelice Visiting Angels America's Choice in Home Care Serving Clients from Pittsburgh, PA to Charleston and Huntington, WV and Everywhere in Between